Started work at 10am as per; well, ish - had been over to Mum's hotel to drop off a copy of the Barcelona magazine so she could find out what stuff was going on that they might have a look at (see, we offer practical services! :D) but alas, she wasn't up, so I abandoned that mission and strolled (at a leisurely pace, naturally..) across the square to the office. Had a brief chat with Juan the doorman (legend) who was coming down in the lift when I was waiting to go up lol; spent the moments normally taken up trying to disengage brain from Sleep Mode hurriedly racking cortexes for Spanish knowledge in order to decipher his Hispanic mumblings; think he said something about having seen Steph and her seeming a lot happier now her parents were here lol. I agreed and said mine were also here; he nodded and said something about family being 'lo mas importante' (the most important thing). Wise words, Juan. lol. So on I went to the office..another day, another morning spent catching up with Steph for as long as possible on the previous night's happenings, in order to avoid checking an inbox you know won't contain anything useful and opening a few Internet browser windows in a vain attempt to start some 'research' (which actually culminates in scouring the MSN and BBC homepages for any vaguely entertaining articles lol. My search results today? Men's Health articles are actually pretty interesting!...Yes, procrastination levels have reached that point..). Maybe even cracking open the occasional Word document if you were feeling ambitious in that you might actually write some words of your own..! Lol. Sooo yup, one Monday morning successfully whiled away..!
Eventually 1.00 rolls around and Steph and I head over to Starbucks, having decided we'd treat ourselves (and that we couldn't be arsed making lunch :p) so we pick up a (really good!) toasted sandwich and munch on that while having a natter about...nothing in particular as I remember lol, tends to be the way when eating! We then decided, despite only having 5 minutes left of our break, that we would treat ourselves even more to a muffin for Steph and this piece of raspberry and white chocolate cheesecake I'd been eyeing up, which we escorted back into the office to pick at while embarking upon the afternoon's 'work'...
I must have managed to crowbar a bit of productivity in somewhere, as somehow my article on Christmas Traditions in Valencia is now pretty much written (well, insofar as it's over the word limit...lol) so apparently my fingers met keyboard at some point, even if my brain wasn't factored into the equation..! Spent the final hour of the day blasting tunes on my iPod and getting even more distracted, as I recall....then the blessed 4.00 rolls around and we slide out the door to freedom :D
After that I wandered across the street to meet Mum outside the hotel; KT was still in the shower, despite me having said I'd meet them at 4...typical, lol. So I went and monged about in their room for a bit, before we headed off to the Metro on our way to Parc Guell (a.k.a. just about my favourite place in the world...EVER... :D). Numerous escalators mounted in hilly roads ensued....all completely and utterly worth it, as always. I only went yesterday and I was still so glad to be back :) I LOVE it.. honestly, there's something about Gaudi's stuff in general, but this park is just a phenomenon...I was wandering around it yesterday and thinking, man, I wish he could see what he's done for Barcelona, as there were so many kids running around, parents and grandparents sitting on the benches, leaning over like children themselves, admiring in wide-eyed awe the view of the myriad of rooftops stretching out to the sea.... ahhh it's just breathtaking. :) The hill with the cross is now one of my favourite places also. And the acoustics under the courtyard with all the pillars supporting it were absolutely incredible, as they always have been. Nothing like hearing a classical Spanish guitar piece ringing out into the evening air in a place like that. Absolutely stunning :D
Anyway, I could rave about that place forever, will stop..! Oh actually, we went inside Gaudi's house as well..first time I'd been in it...sooo cool. I love that man! What a legend.
So then we traipsed back down the hill to the Metro, and headed back, planning to get said INCREDIBLE hot chocolate, but by which point everyone (especially KT) was hungry, so we decided hot chocolate will wait til tomorrow and that we'd head straight for tapas. Went to El Bosc (Wood bar - amazing) briefly, but then discovered they only really do sandwiches, by which point KT was practically eating the fake leaves hanging from the ceiling, so we threw one last cursory glance around the place and spooled on. Found a reasonable tapas place (Café Joan - pronounced as in the old lady's name by KT - actually more like Juan lol) and hastily scoffed a few plates of patatas bravas, croquetas and pan con tomate. Yum :) Mum and I had a glass of Sangria each - was particularly good there, actually - which made us rather drowsy, lol - but KT had now decided that she was properly tired, and pretty much just wanted to go back to the hotel and sleep. At 8pm. Lol, now maybe it's just me, but that's a poor effort from a 16 year old, Kate! :p We nevertheless had a meander around Plaza Reial and I showed them the restaurant we hope to go to tomorrow night, Les Quinze Nits (yes, the amazing one I've been on about since I first went there at the end of my first week :D) - and we also spotted the jazz club/bar we'd noticed had some jazz on tonight. So I went and asked about when it was on, whether there were seats, how much tickets were etc, and we marked that down as an option, but first had to drop KT back at the hotel because by this point she was practically bedding down on the flagstones...*sigh* kids! :p
Sooo Madre and I headed back down to the Jazz bar...4€ for a wicked set by a 7 piece band - 2 vocalists, Spanish guitarist, bassist, drummer, trumpet player and cellist. Awesome :D No seats so everyone was just sat on the flagstones like kids in a school assembly..! Was so cute :) loved it. Perfect wind down to a Monday evening :) Headed off at 11ish because of Metro shutting at 12 on weeknights; grabbed a falafel durum on the way back from a passing shop front (my new night-time snacking vice lol), yum :D Wandered back to Metro and had a surprisingly quick trip back home. Got in, nestled in PJs, lit some incense and here I am! Pretty wicked Monday if you ask me :D
Steph has the day off tomorrow, so I'm anticipating a particularly boring day in the office lol...though if I do get really stuck, I suppose I could actually edit this article and write the other one lol...that would mean actual work though.... :p Meeting the mischiefs for said amazing hot chocolate at lunch though, which shall be my sustenance throughout the morning! :D yaayyy!
Had better head to bed now, has been a long day and will no doubt be another one tomorrow...! Bring it owwnnn..
Love you all so much kids, wish you were here with me. This place is amazing... xxxxxxxxxxx
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